Romania to Launch Fund for Africa’s Future

Romanian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bogdan Aurescu, attended the Global Coalition to Defeat Daesh/ISIS ministerial meeting in Marrakech on May 11, where he announced that Romania would establish a Fund for the Future of Africa through Peace, Education, and Development, which Morocco will host in collaboration with the United States of America.

Minister Aurescu emphasised Romania’s commitment to supporting the coalition’s specific missions, both within its forces and through national contributions to support stabilisation efforts and the provision of development assistance to governments affected by ISIS/Daesh acts.

The Romanian Minister reaffirmed Romania’s commitment to ensuring security and stability in the Middle East and Africa, “where the terrorist phenomenon is rising.” He emphasised Romania’s strong support for African states in the Sahel region committed to combating networks affiliated with ISIS/Daesh and other extremist organisations, in line with President Klaus Iohannis’ commitments at the Coalition for the Sahel summit in Paris on February 16 and within the European Union.

The head of Romanian diplomacy conveyed the growing concerns regarding the security situation in Africa, especially in the Sahel region, and emphasized the consistent contribution assumed by Romania in the international missions to combat the terrorist phenomenon in Africa, both within the Global Coalition against Daesh, as well as in other formats.

Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Press Release

The Romanian Foreign Affairs Minister expressed Romania’s support for African partners in their efforts to combat terrorist network activity, recalling the high-level political decision taken in 2021 to send a military contingent to the multinational Task Force Takuba in coordination with G5-Sahel partners.

The head of Romanian diplomacy made an appeal to the partners within the coalition to convict and reject the malignant actions of so-called private military companies affiliated with the Russian Federation and present in Africa, especially the Wagner Group, which is endangering the efforts of countries in the region to obtain a lasting peace and build good governance.

Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Press Release

According to the MAE press release, Romania plans to conduct projects in the Sahel that will directly help the promotion of stability, good governance, and resilience, such as countering disinformation and handling civilian emergencies starting with the Fund for Future of Africa through Peace, Education and Development, as part of the multi-annual budget planning of the Official Assistance for Development.

On September 10, 2014, the United States announced the formation of an international coalition to combat ISIS/Daesh. In this way, the attempts to launch a military operation against ISIS/Daesh were unified and concentrated when Operation Inherent Resolve was established (OIR). The coalition operates under UN Security Council Resolution 2178 (concerning foreign combatants). It mainly works within the OIR led by the US, following UN Charter Article 51, intending to neutralise and ultimately destroy ISIS/Daesh.

The alliance currently consists of 85 governments and international organisations, with a secretariat in Washington directed by the United States.

Romania has been involved in Iraq since 2016, both as part of the Coalition Forces, inside the OIR and NATO missions, and as part of the stabilisation and reconstruction efforts in nations affected by ISIS/Daesh actions.